Trust me, I know it’s hard to get into the holiday spirit when you live in Florida. It’s warm enough to wear shorts on Christmas day usually, and all I want is to be able to have some hot chocolate and watch snowflakes fall while cuddling under a warm blanket. But while I can’t move to the snowy paradise of my dreams right now, I can make a cup of hot chocolate, cuddle with my partner, throw some wintery scenes on the tv, and look for fun holiday events in the area.
Lucky for you readers I did just that :)
So, here are some ideas for fun things to do when you want to get in the holiday spirit but don’t quite know exactly how to do it.
Winter Wonder Wharf
Sparkman Wharf is holding its annual Winter Wonder Wharf through the end of December. You can enjoy some holiday themed food and drinks, Instagrammable photo-ops, and live entertainment.
Holiday Classic Showings
Tampa Theatre is holding special viewing of classic holiday movies, with some having sing along opportunities, on select nights through Jan. 8th.
Snowcat Ridge Park
Head on over to Dade City to go ice skating, snow tubing, snowball throwing, and enjoy some food and drinks while shopping.
Christmas Town
If you have a Busch Gardens pass then make sure to visit during December when they have Christmas Town to see thousands of twinkly lights, have fun festive food, and of course ride the rollercoasters!
Winter Village
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park has been transformed into a winter village featuring an ice-skating rink, cafes, shops, and a winter village express streetcar that you can ride through the downtown area while singing along to Christmas songs and enjoying milk and cookies.
Festival of Lights
If you go to the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds, you can see a drive-through display of over a million lights depicting different holiday scenes and stop by Santa’s Village full of fun treats and photo-ops!
Last but certainly not least:
Holiday Pop-Up Bar
If you’re of legal drinking age, and have a car or someone to drive you, head on over to St. Pete’s Intermezzo Coffee and Cocktails. The coffee shop/bar is being transformed into a Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar, called Miracle on Mezzo, starting on Black Friday and ending on New Year’s Eve. They’ll be featuring fun festive cocktails, like the Christmapolitan and the Jingle Balls Nog.
I know I’ll be stopping by most of these fun events this holiday season, so I hope to see you there too!